


Of Innuendo and Ambiguity

by nanuk_dain



Series: Of Soldiers and Secrets [11]
Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-31
Updated: 2011-08-31
Packaged: 2017-10-23 07:07:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/247565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nanuk_dain/pseuds/nanuk_dain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, words have more than one meaning. Or: How Speirs and Harry made Lipton blush – one on purpose, the other by chance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Innuendo and Ambiguity

  
[   
](http://pics.livejournal.com/nanuk_dain/pic/0008xqg1)   


 

They were on their way to Austria, the motions of the jeep gently swaying Harry from side to side. He felt better than he had this morning, when he'd woken to an impressive hangover. It must have been the champagne. Maybe that was the Germans' subtle way of taking revenge for Harry drinking all their booze up at Eagle's Nest. Nix and Ron hadn't looked much better when he'd crossed them on his way to the jeep this morning.

Harry grinned. At least he wasn't suffering alone.

Lipton sat in the driver's seat, his eyes dutifully on the road, although their speed wasn't very high. They were driving a long queue of jeeps and trucks, and that triggered a memory in Harry's still half-fuzzy mind.

“Oh, Lip, I just remembered that I wanted to ask you something.”

“Sure, sir.” Lip replied with a quick sidewards glance. “Go ahead.”

“I know I was pretty drunk yesterday, but I think I heard you or Ron say something about a car up at Eagle's Nest and...” Harry stopped. Never in his life had he seen somebody blush that fiercely that quickly. It shot up Lipton's neck into his cheeks and he obviously tried very hard to ignore it, staring straight ahead at the street.

Harry just smirked. “So I guess there wasn't any car at Eagle's Nest yesterday.”

In a definitely nervous gesture, Lip licked his lips before he shook his head. “No, sir.”

“All right, so what was that talk about cars, then?” Harry just had to try, although he deemed his chances of finding something out were rather slim.

For a moment that lasted a bit too long to be polite, Lip didn't reply. “Nothing, sir.”

Oh, now he was curious. There was something Lipton didn't tell, and whatever it was, it managed to get him blazing red and fidget nervously. Maybe he should ask Ron. As far as he remembered, Ron had been at Eagle's Nest when the subject had come up.

Harry didn't say anything else, but he couldn't help watching Lip sit straight-backed in the seat, his hands gripping the steering wheel a bit too tightly and his face a bit too neutral under the slowly receding blush. It took over half an hour until Lipton relaxed again and the red had left his face entirely.

By then, Harry was deeply intrigued. He knew Lip wouldn't talk, so Harry decided to make it his private little mission to find out what all this fuss was about.

***

The first opportunity came up the night of their arrival at Zell am See. The rich atmosphere of the place was an invitation to a night of Poker while drinking real coffee and high-end liquor. So Harry had tried to assemble their usual group of Nixon, Speirs, Lipton and himself, but somehow the men seemed to have other plans. Nix excused himself with something vague about having to go over some intel with Winters – and Harry couldn't help his snort here, although he quickly tried to disguise it as a cough – and poor Lip was called away due to some problem with the accommodation of the men just when their second round started.

So Harry found himself only with Ron and a nice bottle of Scotch at the huge table, both of them with their cards in their hands. Lipton's set lay abandoned between them on the wood, right next to the still steaming mug of coffee that Lip had left behind. Harry watched how Ron reached for it, pulling it over to his side of the table and drinking from it without hesitating a moment. It was then that Harry sensed his moment to question Captain Ronald Speirs had finally come.

“Tell me, Ron,” Harry asked casually, looking over the rim of his cards, “what did you do at Eagle's Nest after Lip parked me on the couch?”

Ron was just taking a sip and looked at Harry over the mug, then he lowered it with this smile that made him look even more scary than when he was frowning. “None of your business, Harry.”

Harry wasn't knocked off course that easily, though. “Did it have anything to do with a car?”

It was interesting how Ron's left eyebrow rose obviously involuntarily in surprise. “What makes you think about a car?”

“I heard one of you say something about a car.” Harry replied with a shrug, trying to appear less interested than he actually was. “I know, I know, I was drunk and all, but I remember hearing it and I wondered what it was about. I was pretty sure there weren't any cars at Eagle's Nest.”

“Well, that's probably because there weren't.”

“Yeah, I thought that too, but to make sure I asked Lip about it, because he was the only one of us who was sober and therefore he should know.” Harry took a sip of his Scotch and carefully watched Ron's reaction.

Speirs was as calm as you can be. “And?”

“Well, he just blushed like mad, but he didn't say anything about it.”

“I can imagine.” Ron snorted and Harry tried not to look too surprised, but what the hell, was that a smirk?

“So you know what his reaction was about?” Harry leaned forward, he felt close to the solution.

Ron just raised one eyebrow in an almost daring manner. “Yeah, I know.”

“So?”

“Like I said, Harry.” Ron replied and casually leaned back in the elaborate chair, taking another sip of Lip's coffee. “None of your business.”

“Ah, Ron!” Harry fell back in his own chair and growled. “You're frustrating, you know that?”

“I was told so before.” Ron returned calmly and pointed at the cards. “It's your turn, Harry.”

***

The second opportunity was not much of an opportunity, it was more like chance letting the answer fall into his lap. Or slapping it in his face, really. Harry was just on his way to meet with Lip down in the courtyard of the hotel when he saw Speirs enter the impressively huge entrance hall from the salon to its right that was currently used as CP.

“Hey, Ron!” Harry jogged down the last steps while Speirs stopped and looked at him.

“Harry.” He nodded and waited for Harry to join him at the foot of the stairway. “Where are you off to this early in the morning?”

“Meeting Lip outside, then we're headed for the shooting range.” Harry explained and curiously eyed the green regulation scarf that was wrapped tightly around Ron's neck. So it was still early in the morning and the air was a little fresh, but nothing that warranted a scarf. Especially after Bastonge, where their understanding of 'cold' had dropped a few degrees under the definition of the general population. “Are you cold, Ron?”

“What?” Speirs asked distractedly while they walked down the long flight of stairs to where Lipton was waiting.

He knew poking Ronald Speirs wasn't the most intelligent idea, but that had never stopped him before. And Harry couldn't help it, the curiosity got the better of him. “Or is there a snowstorm coming that nobody informed me about?”

“Not that I know of.” Ron stopped in front of Lip and gave Harry a look that said clearly that he thought Harry was either strange or insane. “Good Morning, Lieutenant.”

“Good Morning, sirs.” Lip replied and nodded to both of them.

“Morning, Lip.” Harry replied without paying him too much attention. “Ron, why the heck are you wearing a scarf when the sun's out?” It was only out of the corner of his eye that Harry noticed Lip shuffle almost nervously on his feet.

Ron looked at Harry with a raised eyebrow that was very obviously a warning. “Do I have to explain my choice of clothing to you now, Harry?”

“Just curious.” Harry replied and shrugged casually.

Ron just snorted. “What a surprise.”

“Oh come on, Ron, don't tell me _again_ that it's none of my business.”

Ron smirked, and Harry caught his gaze flickering to Lip for a split second. “Actually, Harry, it really is none of your business.”

“But it's Lip's, hmm?” Harry asked with a sly grin. Next to him, he heard Lipton break out in a cough, and Harry couldn't help his grin widening. It was actually kind of fun to make Lip fidget.

“Which still means it's not yours.” Ron replied calmly, not bothering to deny Harry's implication. Lip had at last successfully controlled his urge to cough and stood next to them with a faint red tinge to his cheeks.

“We should get to the shooting range, sir.” Lip said with a perfectly neutral voice, obviously determined not to let his nervousness show. Or maybe it was embarrassment. Or both. “The men are waiting.”

“You should get some training too, Ron.” Harry teased with a grin. “Otherwise you'll get lazy.”

“I don't get lazy, Harry, don't worry.” Ron said with a quick glance at Lip. “I'm well exercised.”

Lip cleared his throat and pointedly looked at Harry. “We should really go, sir.”

“Sure, Lip.”

“I have to leave anyway, I have a meeting with Sink.” Speirs said with a casual salute. “Gentlemen.”

Harry saluted equally lax. “Have fun, Ron.”

“Captain.” Lip jumped to attention for his salute, just like the perfect rule-abiding soldier he was, and Harry had to hide a grin.

“Lieutenant.” Ron suddenly smirked and added, with a glance first to Harry, then back to Lipton, “We'll train later, Car.”

Lip looked rather uncomfortable in his skin, the red creeping higher in his cheeks, although Harry was sure he'd seen a smile tugging at the lieutenant's lips and a mischievous gleam in his eyes. It was something you rarely saw with the sincere Carwood Lipton, but Harry was fairly sure that Speirs could get that response out of the man easily enough.

And then suddenly, as if Ron's words had just sunken in, Harry got it. He really tried, but he just couldn't keep from laughing out aloud. It had never been about an automobile! 'Car' was Ron's pet name for dear Lip! That was just hilarious. Absolutely hilarious.

Ron turned to leave and Harry saw him smirk at Lip who seemed to be fighting another fierce blush, and Harry wondered how it could have taken him so long to make the connection. 'Car' as the short form of 'Carwood' wasn't that difficult to guess, actually. But well, there was a reason Nix was their Intelligence Officer and not Harry, he thought with a grin. As if on cue, when he looked up, he saw Winters and Nixon stand on the balcony on the second floor, watching them. Winters was leaning against the railing, offering his mug to Nix who accepted it almost unconsciously and took a sip before handing it back with a quick smile.

For a moment, Harry couldn't help wondering what _their_ secret pet names were. Maybe it would be worth another little mission to find out.

 

***

For Dick's and Lew's POV of this last scene, have a look at "Of Scarfs and Coughs" ^_^

**Author's Note:**

> The beautiful banner was made by my dear Megan_Moonlight


End file.
